Eureka Kansas Sheriff Slain

Shot To Death

The Associated Press

EUREKA, Kan. (AP) -- Four people are in custody after Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels was shot to death while serving warrants, but officials have provided few details about the people involved in the shooting.

Authorities said Samuels, 42, was shot around 10 a.m. Wednesday near Virgil in northeast Greenwood County as he was serving a search warrant at a home and an arrest warrant for a man wanted on burglary and theft charges and for violating parole.

Three people at the home were taken into custody at the time of the shooting, Kansas Bureau of Investigation spokesman Kyle Smith said. But the shooter barricaded himself inside, sparking a daylong standoff during which officers of the KBI, the Kansas Highway Patrol and other agencies tried to negotiate the man's surrender.

He was taken into custody later Wednesday after being sprayed with pepper spray, Smith said. Authorities said shots were fired at the officers who apprehended the man but no one was hit. Additional details, including the man's name, were not immediately released.

Whitney Watson, a spokesman for Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, said the arrest warrant Samuels was serving was for a parolee identified as Scott Cheever, 23, who is accused of breaking contact with his parole officer on Jan. 5.

It was not immediately clear whether Samuels was shot by the person named in the warrants, Smith and Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. John Eichkorn said. Watson would not say whether Cheever was one of the four people who were arrested.

Samuels was pronounced dead on arrival at Greenwood County Hospital in Eureka, said hospital spokesman Bruce Birchell. Watson said Samuels died at the scene.

Watson said Undersheriff Kendel Bartholomew probably will be acting sheriff until an election is held.

Samuels, who graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in 1988, had worked for the Greenwood County Sheriff's Department since then. He was the son of former Sheriff Jack Samuels.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius expressed sympathy for Samuels' family and friends.

"Our law enforcement officers put their lives on the line each day for the safety and security of our families, and today we are sadly reminded of this ultimate sacrifice that will forever affect the Samuels family,'' Sebelius said in a written statement.

Attorney General Phill Kline called Samuels' death "a tragic loss not only for the law enforcement community but for the entire state of Kansas.''

Prayers for this brave officer's family and his department. Rest in peace, Sheriff Samuels.

Warrant service has so much potential danger.

You know the difference between a job and a duty? A job you can refuse to do because it's dangerous; a duty you must do even if it is dangerous.

God, I hope not but it doesn't say he had anyone with him. I can't fathom why it's necessary to send anyone to serve a warrant alone, regardless of the charge. One officer is an invitation to resist, two or more is cause to pause.

You know the difference between a job and a duty? A job you can refuse to do because it's dangerous; a duty you must do even if it is dangerous.